Manchester United down Chelsea to blow title race open

The Manchester United manager said his side's 2-0 win over his old club Chelsea was, of course, "special".

Ashley Young, United's captain after coming in as one of Mourinho's alterations, saw his cross-shot only just evade Rashford in the Chelsea box and then fired wide from Paul Pogba's pass as the hosts' lightning start continued.

In United's 1-0 FA Cup defeat at Chelsea last month Herrera was sent off in the first half after being shown a second yellow card for a foul on Hazard.

Mourinho has had a challenging first season at the United helm, with nine home draws in the league summing up his difficulties, but Sunday's 2-0 win over leaders Chelsea was a tactical masterclass.

The Red Devils are four points behind fourth-placed Manchester City, with a trip to the Etihad Stadium, which is live on Sky Sports, on the horizon on April 27.

Chelsea still lead the standings with 75 points but are now threatened by the Tottenham Hotspurs, with 71 points and in second place.

This is published unedited from the IANS feed.

Marcus Rashford, meanwhile, seized a rare chance to shine at centre-forward by netting United's seventh-minute opener and tormenting Chelsea's back three with his penetrative running.

They are in great form and they have a lot of enthusiasm because they are feeling the possibility of writing history.

Chelsea didn't have a shot on target in a league game for the first time in almost a decade.

"Mourinho has masterminded plenty of wins in big games down the years, but he usually does it with a defensive approach and by setting up with a team that, first and foremost, is very hard to break down".

He added: "If he was subdued in his interview after the game I think you can accept that because his team just haven't performed today".

"It's not a deliberate handball but I think if you're a United player and it goes the other way you would want it for you".

One of the big discussion points of the game was whether Rahsford's rampant running to go with his goal, and how it made United so much livelier, should justify getting into the team ahead of the rested Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

'If Tottenham win their first league title since 1961, nobody could say they don't deserve to be champions, ' Wright told The Sun.

The 19-year-old, handed a rare opportunity to start in the No.9 role, took Antonio Conte's men to pieces with a seemingly endless stream of powerful runs in behind.

It was Chelsea's fifth league loss of the season and first to United in 13 matches dating to 2012. We score last minute here against Everton and Liverpool.